Chrono Data - Federal XM223SP1 62gr Bonded

[DRT]

Temp = 58F
Elevation = 1300'
prochrono @ 15'

Federal XM223SP1
62gr bonded .223
20" Colt 5.56mm 1x7", freefloated with 3x9 Nikon Scope
Lot # 49P659X005

2777
2743
2760
2751
2778
-------
2762 fps ave (relatively mild for a 20" barrel)

Other observations: Accuracy was reasonably good at about 2MOA (1") at 50yards, much better than 62gr Remington Core Lokt Ultra Bonded, but not as good as 75gr Hornady 5.56mm TAP in this rifle. I also shot it into water at close range and it did not hold together as well as the 62gr Remington that was going probably 75fps faster. Bottom line is it's a relatively cheap ($9.90/20 rounds), reasonably accurate load that maintains decent, but not spectacular, bullet integrity.

[Stump70]

Seems weak. Did you by chance measure COAL? Would be grateful to get a charge weight on a pulled round.

[DRT]

Seems weak. Did you by chance measure COAL? Would be grateful to get a charge weight on a pulled round.

Not the most powerful .223 for sure, but I honestly think that this bullet would do better, by that I mean hold together better, when fired out of a shorter barrel with less velocity.

COAL = 2.231" (via lyman dial caliper)
Charge Wt. = 24.2gr (Wonder how this compares to the 64gr Gold Dot?)
Bullet Wt. = 61.8gr (somewhat mangled getting it out of the case since I don't have a bullet puller)

Weights measured with an old RCBS beem scale.

[Stump70]

Thanks DRT. I have 62gr and 64gr pulls of this flavor and am trying to figure out some loadings for them. 24.2 grs. would explain the slow velocity. That would only be about 2500fps out of 16" or shorter barrels.

[Ironman8]

These rounds were designed to expand and perform at much lower velocities though I'm sure...

And thanks for the info!

[DRT]

Thanks DRT. I have 62gr and 64gr pulls of this flavor and am trying to figure out some loadings for them. 24.2 grs. would explain the slow velocity. That would only be about 2500fps out of 16" or shorter barrels.

My experience is that my 16" LE6920 generally runs about 4% slower than my 20" rifle. I'm guessing that'll put them in the 2650fps range. I'll chronograph them out of my carbine next time I have a chance just to confirm.

I dont reload .223 but you got my interest up so I did a search and found this.

http://beta.ar15.com/archive/topic.h...&f=16&t=510446

Very similar COAL and 24.1gr so I guess it's typical. What charge weights have you measured in your fusion and gold dot?

[DRT]

These rounds were designed to expand and perform at much lower velocities though I'm sure...

And thanks for the info!

I think you are spot on. They definitely expand. Water at close range is tough on a bullet but I bet they'd do much better in a 10.5"-14.5" weapon. They probably won't come apart so much at the lower speeds.

[Stump70]

My experience is that my 16" LE6920 generally runs about 4% slower than my 20" rifle. I'm guessing that'll put them in the 2650fps range. I'll chronograph them out of my carbine next time I have a chance just to confirm.

I dont reload .223 but you got my interest up so I did a search and found this.

http://beta.ar15.com/archive/topic.h...&f=16&t=510446

Very similar COAL and 24.1gr so I guess it's typical. What charge weights have you measured in your fusion and gold dot?

I am reloading these, so don't have factory ammo to compare with.I was doing accuracy testing on loads from 24.4 up to 25.6 on the 64grainers, 25.6 having the best results.Around 25 is what the 62 grain Fusions liked. Not trying to start this into a reloading thread.

I appreciate the testing and the info.

[Ironman8]

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the Speer Gold Dot 24448 and how it performs, well Doc's post in this thread made my decision to pick up the XM223SP1 since its so much cheaper...

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=73955

[shootist~]

Thanks for the chronograph data. Pretty much confirms what I was expecting after shooting some at 100 to 500 meters through a 14.5" DD LW. At 300 & 400 it was pretty clear it was on the slower side. The bottom really fell out at 500M based on the number of additional MOAs I had to dial in vs what my 55 grain loads require.

Accuracy was acceptable in the 14.5" (the LW shoots good, but is hard to shoot good if you know what I mean.) A 5 shot group ran 2.4".

A 10 round group in the 18" Noveske SPR barrel put 9 of 10 in 1.25" at 100 Yds with an extreme spread of 1.65". With me on the trigger, this is very good accuracy.